stolen boat?

ok people need some advise here i am wanting to trade my bass boat for a ski boat and decided to put it on craigs list i got a call today from a person here who will trade with me but he bought the boat in ky about 4 months ago and now live in la and says that he never registered the boat so is there ways to tell if the boat is stolen i ran into this once and spent 3000 on a stolen boat so i lost money and boat meanwhile he was never caught need some help here

Re: stolen boat?

Easy. Trust your instincts. Pass on this one, another will come along that you'll feel good about.

Re: stolen boat?

mike1245 said:

ok people need some advise here i am wanting to trade my bass boat for a ski boat and decided to put it on craigs list i got a call today from a person here who will trade with me but he bought the boat in ky about 4 months ago and now live in la and says that he never registered the boat so is there ways to tell if the boat is stolen i ran into this once and spent 3000 on a stolen boat so i lost money and boat meanwhile he was never caught need some help here

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Well, if it's been titled in KY, you can have the HIN traced. He may have the KY title in the PO's name. If it were me, I'd require a clear title before I'd trade.

What year is the boat?

Re: stolen boat?

Have the police do an inspection before you trade it will need to be done at some point anyway for the out of state title(In Indiana anyway) . If the guy doesn't want to do it that way I would run anyway.

Re: stolen boat?

what is meant by clear title is there a way to check it online the boat is a 1976 with a merc 85hp

Re: stolen boat?

mike1245 said:

what is meant by clear title is there a way to check it online the boat is a 1976 with a merc 85hp

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A '76 should have an HIN number on the hull and it should match the title and any registration.

A clear title means that there are no leins or unresolved claims on the title and that the title is not a salvage title. It should be in the current owner's name and ready to be transferred to you.

I don't think KY offers a search of any kind online, but the DMV should be able to give you very basic details on the title. KY State Police should be able to tell you if it was reported stolen recently.

If the owner can't provide any documents, it's going to be a hassle (not impossible, but a headache) to make it legal. You may be able to get new papers made depending on your state, but you may never know 100% if it's been stolen somewhere along the line.

In short, no title = I'd walk.

Re: stolen boat?

he does have a title he just never have boat put in his name title is signed by last owner just not him yet he will sign it if i trade then transfer it to me the more i think about it now the more shady it kinda sounds but ill see what tomorow brings i guess

Re: stolen boat?

mike1245 said:

he does have a title he just never have boat put in his name title is signed by last owner just not him yet he will sign it if i trade then transfer it to me the more i think about it now the more shady it kinda sounds but ill see what tomorow brings i guess

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So if he signs it and trans to him from the last owner, you'll likely have to wait for him to get a title in his name and he pays the his taxes on it then signs it over to you.

It's likely that he will just want you to sign the title that he has. If the title doesn't have to be noterized (it does in KY) then you can do that. Just know that as far as the law is concerned, you took ownership of the boat from the previous owner and not the guy you are trading. If there are any issues, he would be in the clear as he never legally owned the boat.